Bucks reportedly looking to add talent to slumping roster, not trade Antetokounmpo

“Did we compete today? No… If you don’t compete your ass off, you’re not going to win the game. [You have to] at least give yourself a chance… Are you OK with not competing? I’m not OK with that s***.”

That was a frustrated Giannis Antetokounmpo after he and the Bucks were easy work for the Knicks on Friday night. That frustration has fueled the NBA’s trade rumor mill and led to speculation the Bucks could be forced to trade Antetokounmpo, maybe by the February trade deadline.

Don’t bet on it.

As has been reported here before, league sources have told NBC Sports the Bucks will not trade Antetokounmpo unless he demands it and, while other front offices are monitoring the situation, nobody realistically expects that to happen during this season. While Antetokounmpo has fueled that rumor fire himself with comments more than a. year ago about competing for a ring being the most important thing — and this season’s Milwaukee squad has not looked anything like a contender — he has been nothing but loyal to the Bucks and signed a three-year contract extension before last season that hasn’t even kicked in yet. He is under contract with the Bucks until the summer of 2027 when he can opt-out. Even if he were to request a trade at this point, the Bucks can and would slow play this in an attempt to tweak the roster around him.

Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps went into detail on this same idea at ESPN.

The Bucks are indeed starting to canvas the league for a trade, league executives told ESPN. But no, not that trade. The concept of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo reaching the trade market is ripe for rumors and trade machine computations, but it’s not a reality as of now for Antetokounmpo or the Bucks, sources said…

Milwaukee is making trade calls looking for some help for Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, as Khris Middleton’s absence from offseason ankle surgeries extends and the team manages a 2-6 start [ED note: this was written before the loss to the Knicks]…

For a league that loves drama and fans who crave transactions, it’s tempting to jump to conclusions with Antetokounmpo. In this case, though, it should be understood that the Bucks are heavily incentivized to try everything to make this roster work with Antetokounmpo and exhaust all avenues before considering anything else. The Bucks don’t control their next six first-round picks — they’ve traded three firsts and made three swaps. This effectively blunts the concept of a short-term rebuild through the draft in Milwaukee.

That last part is key — Milwaukee has no motivation to trade Antetokounmpo. First, he drives the business model for them — people pay for tickets to see him, sponsors pay to be associated with the franchise because of him, and he’s worth far more to the Bucks than they pay him. Second, the Bucks can’t just pivot to a rebuild, they don’t control their own picks to trade (and even if a team sent them five first-round picks in a trade, how good would those picks be as Antetokounmpo lifts said team into the playoffs and likely contention).

Milwaukee may want to make a trade to put talent around Antetokounmpo, but they have bigger problems there. First, they don’t have many assets to trade: As noted, they don’t control their next six first-round picks, and they don’t have young players on the roster that other teams covet. Second, and maybe more concerning, the Bucks are also over the second tax apron, which means there are severe restrictions on the kind of trade they can make (they can’t aggregate salaries going out, and they can’t take back $1 more than they are sending out, and they can’t put cash in a trade). It’s nearly impossible for them to put together a meaningful trade.

The Bucks will look around and likely make some kind of trade this season, but it probably is not something Bucks fans see as a game-changer.

And it’s not going to include Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Maybe things will change this summer around Antetokounmpo if the entire season goes sideways. Maybe he will change the dynamic, but we are a long way from that.